Star Trek: Swiftfire: Vengeance
by The Sisko
Summary: Captain Jonathan Masters gets his first mission of his first command, the USS Swiftfire-A: he is to hunt down a rogue Starfleet captain and old friend who is waging a personal war against the Klingon Empire.
1. Prologue

**STAR TREK: SWIFTFIRE**

_**Vengeance**_

_Author's note: This story takes place after the events of _Star Trek: Swiftfire: The Darkness Within_._

* * *

Captain Alexander Whiting stared at the computer screen. He was still debating within himself whether or not to transmit the message he had recorded. He had spent the last few days recording and then rerecording it. It was a simple message but it was very important to him that it be just right. It was after all his explanation, his confession of what he was about to do.

The computer indicating there was someone at his door.

"Come in."

Commander Todd Marshal entered, his first officer. Marshal was a short man, though apparently he was considered tall on the colony he was from. He was every bit a professional officer, clean shaven, hair close cropped and an immaculate neat uniform. He was a fine first officer but he wasn't quite captain material. His career might have stalled at commander but he still gave it all he could and he was fiercely loyal.

"Yes, Commander?" he asked.

"We have exited warp and should be in orbit of the planet in twenty minutes."

A surprised look came to his face and he turned to look out of the window in his ready-room. The ship had indeed dropped out of warp and was travelling at sublight speeds. He had being so engrossed with sending the message that he had not noticed.

"Any defences in system?"

"None. The only things in orbit are non-military satellites, just as the intelligence report stated."

"Very well, prepare the ship. I'll join you on the bridge once we are in orbit."

The commander acknowledged the order and left the room.

Once he was gone Whiting picked up a picture of a woman and two children, both female. This was all he had left of his family, nothing but pictures and memories. A tear rolled down his cheek as he thought of his family. On stardate 50203.8 the Klingons broke the ceasefire that had been between them and the Federation. One of the planets they hit was Belis IV, during the attack the Klingons killed over 12,000 people and among the dead were his wife and children. That was not the only family he lost, he was born and bred on Belis IV. His family could trace their roots back to the original colonists. It was his home and he had lost not only his family but the community that was closest to his heart. A tear rolled down his cheek as he thought about what he had lost.

He stood and made his way to his personal washroom. He splashed water on his face and stared into the mirror. His short brown hair seemed to recede a little bit more every time he looked in the mirror. He couldn't help but thing about his wife telling him that being bald would make him look more distinguished.

He closed his eyes as he tried to organise his thoughts.

"This is it. There will be no going back."

He slowly opened his eyes and saw, standing behind him in the mirror was a beautiful woman. Her black hair shone in the light and her brown eyes sparkled with life. This was exactly how he remembered her, the love of his life, his wife.

Whiting did not take his eyes off the mirror and solemnly nodded. "No there won't."

His wife stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She lent her head on his left shoulder, her hair brushing against his face. Her eyes were locked to his, not once looking away.

"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" she whispered.

"Yes."

A look of sorrow flashed on his wife's face. She then ran a hand down his right cheek and over the mole that was on his cheek. He had always been self-conscious about the blemish on his face, especially after he started to notice females. She had removed that from him, she had told him it gave him character and made him unique. It was part of what she loved, it was part of him. It had become one of her habits when they were together, she would stroke that cheek and it always soothed him. He slowly raised his hand, moving it closer and closer to his cheek, to her hand.

The computer beeped indicating an incoming communication. The sound grabbed his attention and his eyes darted away from the mirror.

"_Captain to the bridge."_

Whiting's eyes returned to the mirror. All he was himself in the mirror, his hand lightly touching his cheek. He was alone.

He made his way to the terminal on his desk and transmitted the message.

"There is no going back," he repeated. "It's time for justice."

He made his way to the bridge.

"Status Commander?" he asked as he sat in the just vacated captain's chair.

"All systems are normal. The Klingons have been hailing us for several minutes," said Commander Marshal.

"Raise shields and power up the weapons." He waited three seconds, sitting and counting his breaths to steady him. "Put their communication on screen."

An angry male Klingon appeared on the viewscreen.

"_Starfleet what are you doing in this sector? This is Klingon space, you are not welcome here,"_ growled the Klingon.

"I am Captain Alexander Whiting of the USS_ Fury_. Six months ago a Klingon attack force launched an attack on the Federation colony of Belis IV from this system, an attack that took the lives of over 12,000 civilians. On behalf of the victim I have come for justice."

"_Justice?_ Asked the confused Klingon.

Whiting took a deep breath; it was time to cross the line. "You are an accessory to the murder of these civilians. You allowed the Klingons to rally in this system, kept a communications blackout so that the Federation would not know they were here, so that when they crossed the border they did so unchallenged. The citizens of Belis IV had no defence thanks to your actions."

The Klingon looked unimpressed. _"Your words mean nothing to me, human. I have notified the Klingon Defence Force, I suggest you leave while you can."_

"My words mean nothing? Well, maybe a demonstration would be more to your liking." Whiting turned to his tactical officer. "Destroy a few of their orbiting satellites."

"_What! You can't do that!"_ exclaimed the Klingon in shock.

"This is an _Akira_ class starship, I can do anything I want!" yelled Whiting. Venom soaked his threat, he could not disguise the hatred he felt nor did he want to. "Fire at your discretion," he repeated to his tactical officer.

The tactical officer nodded. The _Fury's_ phaser arrays cut loose easily destroying two nearby satellites.

"_You have no honour!" _hissed the Klingon.

"Don't you talk to me about honour, you Klingon dog! You hide a military installation among a small civilian population." A look of surprise came to his face. "I know about the Klingon intelligence outpost here. If you want to live you will transfer all your information on the attack on Belis IV and the ships that were involved."

The Klingon appeared lost for words. _"I…I don't know what you're…"_

Whiting slammed his hand on his armrest and jumped out of his seat. "DON'T try my patience, _Klingon_. You will give me the information I want or I will turn your pathetic little colony into a giant crater!"

Whiting stared furiously at the Klingon. The Klingon broke eye contact with him. At that point he knew he had won.

"_I am transferring the data you requested,"_ yielded the Klingon.

The operations manager turned around and nodded at Whiting. "Not to seem untrusting but I think it would be best if you allow us access to your computers."

"_I have given you everything that you want!"_

"Then when we check we shouldn't find any missing data. If we do…well, you can guess what the consequences would be." Whiting smiled sinisterly at the Klingon.

"_Very well."_

Whiting smiled in triumph. Now they would get the information they were really after. His operations manager turned and nodded to confirm he had gotten the information they were after. It was time to end this charade

"Thank you. At least you will face justice with your conscience a bit cleaner." He turned to face his tactical officer.

"_Don't turn your back on me human! Face me you…"_

"Cut the audio," he ordered. The Klingon went silent as the audio was shut off, though he didn't seem to notice and kept yelling at Whiting. "Target the colony, heavy bombardment."

The tactical officer acknowledged the order and inputted the new targeting data into the computer. The officer looked up and nodded at Whiting, signalling he and the ship were ready. Whiting turned back to the screen, the Klingon was still shouting at him.

"Put a view of the planet onscreen, but keep the Klingon on as well."

The screen shifted as the image of the Klingon was placed in smaller box to the side. The surface of the planet filled the viewscreen.

"Fire."

Whiting didn't feel the torpedoes leave their launchers but he saw the light reddish-orange balls of light streaking towards the planet. A few seconds later the Klingon stopped yelling and looked off to the side. Alarm overcame the Klingon. He looked back at Whiting and yelled one more insult before the room he was in was consumed by fire and the transmission cut out. The explosions on the surfaces were easily visible from orbit.

Whiting stared dispassionately as the small Klingon convoy was vaporised. It didn't take long for their sensors to confirm that no Klingon life remained on the planet. He felt no pity or sorrow for the civilians on the surface who had no inkling of their deaths until the first torpedo impacted the surface. Their death was a necessary part of the plan, they had nothing to do with his loss but their deaths would serve his purpose and that was all that mattered.

It was on to the next stage of the plan and the ship left the orbit of the planet and headed towards the edge of the system. Whiting sat back down in his chair and pondered the future. _Fury_, there was no more apt name for the ship given what it had just done and what it was going to do.


	2. Chapter 1

"Admiring your new command?"

Jonathan Masters turned from the window. Behind him stood a dark skinned human admiral. Masters instantly recognised him; it was after all the person he was here to see.

"The _Swiftfire-_A is a beautiful ship, Admiral Austin," he replied.

Admiral Eric Austin moved to stand next to Masters at the large viewing window. They were on the drydock that the _Swiftfire_ was docked in. It was just one of many that made up the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards in orbit of Mars.

"She's a brand spanking new_ Akira _class starship, with all the bells and whistles. Not bad for your first command, captain," said the admiral.

Masters was still not use to the new rank. He struggled against the urge to check the pips on his collar. He kept fiddling with them making sure there was really four and that they were in the right place. He couldn't help himself and he ran his fingers over them.

"Still getting use to the new uniform?" asked the admiral misinterpreted what Masters was doing.

Masters dropped his hand to his side. "It is a bit odd," he said.

Austin nodded. Starfleet had recently changed its standard uniform. The changes wasn't that major, the main different between the old and new uniforms was that the division colour that use to be on the upper shoulder area of the shirt was replaced by the bluish colour that the previous undershirt had been and now the undershirt hosted the somewhat muted division colour. It was less bright then the old versions, that was for sure.

"I understand this isn't the first time you've visited your ship. I heard your mother brought you up to have a look at it," said Austin.

That was true, this was the second time had had seen the ship he was to command. It wasn't surprising that Austin knew about the visit, Austin and Masters' mother were old friends having served with each other before he was born. He could even remember meeting Austin when he was a young boy. Though back then Austin had sported a black moustache and he doubted that his hair had as much if any grey in it at the time.

In fact he had seen quite a bit of Austin as he grew up. Probably saw him more then he did his own father. Though Masters didn't really want to think about his "famous" father.

"Did you really order me here to discuss my visit to the ship?" he asked.

"No," admitted the admiral. Austin turned from the window to face Masters. "We have a problem concerning an old friend of yours, Captain Alexander Whiting."

Masters gave Austin a confused look. He was indeed old friends with Whiting; the two had served together on the first vessel Masters had served on after the Academy, the USS_ Winston_. The older Whiting had taken the young Masters under his wing and helped him along during those difficult months following leaving Earth for a life on a starship.

"I hope it isn't serious," he said feeling concerned for his old friend.

Austin's already dark face seemed to get darker. Masters braced himself for the worst. "He's gone renegade, Jonathan. A week ago he took the USS_ Fury_ on a standard patrol and just disappeared. Yesterday he appeared in the Cursa system and attacked the Klingon colony in the system, razing it to the ground."

Masters had prepared himself for several eventualities but the reality caught him by complete surprise.

"I can't believe it," he said truthfully. In his early years in the service he had come to regard Whiting as a big brother. Eventually their paths diverged but they had kept in contact. He had even gone to visit Whiting and his family two years ago after the birth of his second daughter. He hadn't spoken to Whiting since just after the loss of the first _Swiftfire_ over a year ago. It was hard to fathom that a person that you held in such high regard could possibly turn his back on what you thought you both believed in.

"I didn't want to believe it either, but it is hard to deny this."

Austin handed him a padd. There was some sort of message on the pad and Masters played it. On the screen appeared a very familiar face, it was Alexander Whiting.

"_Six months ago the Klingons massacred over 12,000 people on Belis IV. Since then the Federation has done nothing to see that those who perpetuated this crime punished. I can no longer sit back ideally while the people who are meant to represent us turn a blind eye to this. On behalf of the victims and their families I will bring justice to those responsible."_

Masters felt ill as the message ended. He wanted there to be a reasonable explanation or for this to be a joke. He handed the padd back to Austin.

"What is Starfleet doing about this?" he asked.

"The Klingons have allowed us to assist them in the search for the _Fury_. We deployed a small task force of nine vessels from the 59th Tactical Wing and dispatched them into Klingon space."

"Only nine vessels?"

Austin nodded solemnly. "The Klingons are naturally suspicious of us at the moment. The ink on the renewed Khitomer Accords is barely dry and we have a ship attacking civilian and military targets, we were lucky they allowed any of our ships into their space."

"Do you want me to join the task force?" he asked.

Austin nodded his head. "Yes, but we don't want you immediately join the force. You know him well, you know how he thinks. We want you to take your time in joining the task force and to look for the _Fury_ independently. We would like to get the ship and crew back in one piece and if anyone can convince Captain Whiting to turn himself in we believe that person is you."

"He might hide or attack the ships from the task force but with me he might be willing to talk," continued Masters. "What ship will take me to the border?"

"The _Swiftfire_," said Austin. He tapped a few times on a padd and handed over it to Masters. "Stardate 50762.2, with the authority granted to me by Starfleet Command I'm commissioning the USS_ Swiftfire_ NCC-76125-A and placing it under your command, Captain Masters."

Masters looked down at the padd it confirmed what Austin had just said. It also had all the necessary command codes he would need. The _Swiftfire_ was now official under his command.

"I didn't think she was ready!" Masters said still slight shocked.

"It's ready enough; I can't stress how important this mission is, Jonathan. If Captain Whiting continues his attacks it could lead to the Klingons breaking off ties again, at worst it could cause another war. With the Dominion fleet how stationed in Cardassia we can't afford to have the alliance collapse now."

"If I can't find him and stop him?"

"The Fifth Fleet is already deploying to counter a possible Klingon incursion. Whiting has to be stopped, Jonathan. No matter what."

He looked back down at the padd in his hand. He knew the mission and the stakes. There was only one thing left for him to do.

He looked back up at Austin and said, "When do I leave?"

* * *

_Captain's log, stardate 50762.43. This is my first log as captain of the _Swiftfire_-A, we are in transit to the Klingon border, it took two hours from the time Admiral Austin gave me my mission to the time when we launched from the dock. The ship is running on roughly a crew of quarter of normal. The ship is operational but signs of its incompleteness are everywhere, panels are missing, sections don't have power, none of the quarters even have beds! But my chief engineer assures me that if it comes to a fight that the shields and weapons are all ready to go._

_Fight Alex…I can't believe I'm considering it! What if it does come down to a fight? Can I kill the man who was basically my big brother and mentor when I joined the fleet? I really hope I don't have to find out._

_On a happier note I was pleasantly surprised to find that my new first officer is someone I already know and trust._

* * *

"Come in," called Masters.

The door to his ready room opened and in stepped an attractive Starfleet commander. She was tall woman with blond hair that came to her shoulders. She wore a huge smile on her face.

"I have the latest reports from engineering," she said as she approached his desk and handed him a padd.

"Thank you, Commander," he said as he took the padd.

The commander stood at the end of his desk her smile even wider then it was before. Masters looked at her, she was a beautiful woman, she had a sort of classic beauty with her smooth skin and perfect features. He gave her a questioning look.

"You look good behind that desk," she said. "I knew you'd get your own command."

"Your confidence in me has always amazed me, Susan. Have a seat."

The commander sat down. "I remember when you were just a Lieutenant Commander on the _Bonestell_."

Masters smiled at the mention of the _Bonestell_. He had only served on the ship for just over a year but that was where he had met Susan Core.

"I remember that we didn't exactly see eye to eye at first," he said.

"Oh, god no! I hated you when you joined the crew! You were such a stuck up, boring officer."

"And you were a slack, inattentive, trouble maker."

Both officers laughed. It was true that at first neither officer had got on but that had eventually changed and formed an amazingly strong bond despite the short time they served together.

"I was surprised to find you on the bridge when I came on board," said Masters. "What did you do wrong to get assigned to this ship?"

"Actually I requested the position once I heard that you were getting a command."

"I always suspected you were crazy."

"Come on, you can't say you aren't happy to have me here?" said Core.

Masters shrugged noncommittally before relented. "Of course I am. It's good to have a familiar face around."

"Especially when it's such a beautiful face!" Core pouted and posed as if she was in front of a camera.

"As modest as ever," joked Masters.

Core was never one to deny her beauty and she would use it to her advantage if she needed to. However she was not just a pretty face, she was also an extremely capable officer. Masters owned his life to her and he was sure that there was no one else who he would prefer as a first officer.

"I'm surprised you were even available for this mission," pointed out Masters. Due to the rushed nature of the ship's launch there wasn't anything near a full crew and most of the personnel onboard were temporary assignments for this mission only.

"The _Bonestell_ returned to Utopia Planitia three days ago for standard maintenance. So Admiral Austin was easily able to transfer me over earlier then expected. The ship will be without a first officer for a few days but stuck in a drydock it won't really matter." A serious look came to Core's face. "I'm sorry about the _Swiftfire_. I tried to get in contact with you after it happened."

Masters appreciated Core's comments about the previous _Swiftfire_, the ship he had served on until the previous year when it was destroyed by Klingon forces. "I know and I should have got back in contact with you but I wasn't in the most talkative mood back then."

"I understand. I'm just glad to see that despite your loss you've not given up."

Masters just nodded. He had been very close to actually giving up on his career on more then one occasion in the previous year. However thanks to a few special people he hadn't and he felt a prang of guilt that Core has not one of them. He was thankful that she didn't seem to think that it was due to him not valuing her friendship enough, he couldn't stand for her to think that.

"You know someone on the ship we're after don't you?" she continued.

Masters raised an eyebrow in surprise. "How did you know?"

"It was in your face as you read the orders on the bridge and told us our mission."

He wasn't surprised she had noticed, she had shown previously that she could easily read his thoughts and feelings.

"It's Captain Alexander Whiting; we served together on the _Winston_ years ago. We were…are very good friends."

Sympathy lined Core's face. "I remember you mentioning him when we were on the _Bonestell_; he had a kid back then didn't he?"

Masters nodded. "His first. They're dead now…his wife and his two kids. Died six months ago during a Klingon attack and the first I hear about it is when I read the briefing Command prepared for me. How could I miss that?"

"You're not omniscient, Jonathan."

"I know, but I still should have known."

"It isn't any easy thing to get over." Masters could see Core's eyes mist as she remembered painful moments from her past. She flicked her hair with her hand as if to fling away her demons. "For a first mission this isn't going to be an easy one."

"If only I could be so lucky."

* * *

Masters walked onto the bridge. As he did he couldn't help but notice the empty spot where the ship's dedication plaque should have been. Out of all the signs that the ship was launched in a hurry that seemed to be the most glaring, even more so then the fact that the master systems display at the rear of the bridge wasn't working. The ship had just reached the Klingon border and it was time to start the hunt.

"We haven't receiving any new update on the _Fury's_ actions, captain," said Lieutenant Commander Nikki Whitechapel.

Whitechapel was the ship's chief of security and tactical officer. From the records he had been given just before they launched she seemed to be a capable officer. She was also quite an attractive woman with long dark brown hair and blue eyes.

She one of the few officers on the ship who were to be assigned to serve on the ship following the mission and not just a there as part of a temporary assignment. The ship wasn't due to launch for another few weeks so the crew hadn't been gathered yet. Just prior to the mission Whitechapel had been on leave on Earth, recovering from injuries she sustained on her last posting. She had fully recovered and it was lucky she was still on Earth and had not gone back to her posting on the USS_ Aries_.

"What was the last target the _Fury_ attacked?" he asked.

"The _Fury_ attacked an automated mining station eight hours ago and destroyed a frigate sent to investigate the attack."

"You'd think that once the Klingons knew the _Fury_ was on the hunt they'd be cloaked and harder to catch," commented Core.

"These are Klingons, they don't like to hide from a fight," said Masters. "Plus Captain Whiting is a very smart man; I don't doubt he has a few tricks to lure cloaked ships out into the open. Lt. Commander Whitechapel, could you put up a map of the Klingon Empire on the viewscreen and display the locations of targets the _Fury_ has hit."

Whitechapel nodded and the map appeared on the viewscreen.

"What is the Klingon fleet up to?" he asked.

"They are massing at Qo'noS, Ty'Gokor and other important worlds. The pattern of the _Fury's_ attacks is suggesting it is heading towards Qo'noS."

"What about the Starfleet task force?"

"They are also massing with the Klingons, though two ships are out on the prowl after her."

Masters looked at the starmap. He still couldn't believe that Alex had gone renegade and was attacking the Klingons. He knew that Alex had suffered a great personal tragedy at their hands, but he didn't think it would make him do this. This wasn't the person he thought he knew.

He looked at the pattern of attacks; he could see why the Klingons thought he was making his way towards Qo'noS. Each attack was generally moving towards the world from its initial attack in Cursa. It of course wasn't a straight line since that would be far too predictable and the Klingons would have caught the _Fury_ a long time ago. It zigzagged almost randomly, no doubt to make it hard to trace the ship. The more Masters thought about the _Fury_ attacking Qo'noS or other high priority targets the less sense it made. Clearly the smart thing to have done was to go directly to one of those worlds and attack immediately instead of making slow progress towards the worlds and allowing your enemy time to prepare. He then remembered something Whiting had said to him

"I remember something Alex once told me," he said out loud. "Never attack what your enemy expects you to attack. I really doubt his target is Qo'noS or anywhere else the Klingons are reinforcing. He's making them move their pieces to make it easier for him to attack his true target, whatever it is. Can you show me known Klingon fleet movements."

"Yes, sir."

The Lieutenant Commander's fingers ran over the console. On the screen small icons for Klingon ships appeared and then moved across the map. It was however a relatively small number of ships.

"There are probably three times as many ships out there and we just don't know about them because they are cloaked," pointed out Core.

"Which begs the question, how has the _Fury_ avoided them all to get so deep into Klingon space? With our intelligence I can believe he could get to Cursa without any problems given its proximity to our border and Starfleet Intelligence would have a better idea of ship assignments, patrol routes and movements close to the border. It is nothing short of miraculous that they haven't been caught yet."

"The _Fury_ destroyed a Klingon cruiser not long after its attack on Cursa. They could have salvaged the ship's computer or stole the necessary information before they destroyed the vessel," suggested Whitechapel.

"Wait, didn't the file on Cursa say that intelligence suspected that Klingon intelligence was operating a covert base hidden in the colony?" said Core.

Masters gave his first officer a nod to show his appreciation for her memory. "Yes, if Captain Whiting believed that these reports were true then maybe that is why he attacked there first. If this was just a mad quest for revenge why did he skip the Klingon bases near the border or patrol ships?"

"Isn't the theory that Whiting attacked Curse because that is where the attack on Belis IV was launched from?" asked Whitechapel.

"That's right," confirmed Core. "But it is a rather weak link for a reason. It was nothing but a minor staging ground; any military assets would be gone from the system. Plus I'm sure there are ships that were involved in the attack that are probably near the border, why not just skip over and destroy them given they were _directly_ responsible?"

"Excuse me, captain," said the operations manager.

It took Masters a second to remember his name. "Yes, Lieutenant Karak."

The dark skinned Vulcan was the only other true member of the crew on the bridge other then Whitechapel and Core. He had been hastily transferred from the USS _Gorkon_ to join the crew for this mission, arriving no more then a quarter of an hour before the ship departed. Karak looked fairly young, but in reality he was probably the oldest person on the ship at nearly ninety years old.

"Standard Klingon procedure for covert intelligence bases is to set up a secure communications relay and monitoring station, usually within the system's asteroid belt. The presence of such a system would confirm the presence of the intelligence base."

"It would also give the _Fury_ a way to monitor Klingon fleet movements," said Core. "That must be how they have avoided the search parties!"

"Surely the Klingons would have noticed."

"It is unlikely if the _Fury_ only interacted with the relay from within the range afford to the hypothetical base in Cursa."

"If that's true then the _Fury _would have to return to the system to check on the Klingon's response to its attacks."

If this was true then the picture started to become clearer. It would also explain why the Klingon forces combing the space between the last attack and Qo'noS had not found even a hint of the _Fury's_ presence. The ship had doubled back and was nowhere near the search area.

"The time between each attack, is it sufficient to allow the ship to travel back to Cursa and then to its next target?" he asked Whitechapel.

The tactical officer was quick to reply, "Yes, more then enough time. Thirteen hours is also enough time for the ship to make it back to Cursa from its last attack."

"Helm, set course for Cursa."

"Sir," interrupted Karak. "The evidence available does suggest the _Fury_ is heading to Qo'noS. We have no solid proof that the ship would return to Curse."

"There are more then enough ships out there if the ship appears near Qo'noS. Call it a hunch, lieutenant, but I believe we'll only find the _Fury_ if we go to Curse and then we might find out what Captain Whiting is really after."


	3. Chapter 2

"Sir, a ship has just exited warp nearby!" called the tactical officer.

"On screen," ordered Whiting. They had not had another ship visit the system since after he notified the quadrant of the attack on the system. It was a surprise to have another vessel come by especially without warning. There had been no communications directing a vessel to visit the system. Luckily the ship was hidden.

On the viewscreen appeared a ship. He instantly recognized the vessel. Its smooth, sleek lines and a weapon pod on the rear of the ship identified it as an _Akira_ class ship, identical to his own. He knew Starfleet had sent ships after him but none were meant to be anywhere near Cursa.

"Sir, the ship is hailing us," said the operation's officer, a hint of concern in his voice.

"Do they know where we are?" he asked.

"No, it doesn't appear so. They are transmitting a message into the general vicinity."

That was a good sign; however the fact that the Starfleet captain had deduced his true location was a worry. He thought about just ignoring the hail and waiting for the crew to get bored and to leave. His gut told him that he should take the hail instead.

"Let me hear it."

"_USS_ Fury_, this is Captain Masters of the USS_ Swiftfire._ I have orders from Starfleet Command to take your crew into custody for the unlawful attacks on the Klingon Empire. I know you are here, Alex. We traced your warp signature here."_

"Do you know the captain, sir?" asked Marshal.

There was no denying the name or the voice, Whiting knew the captain alright. His heart felt slightly heavier knowing that Masters was one of the people hunting after him; he had not expected Masters to find out until after the event, at least that is how he had wanted it to be. He felt the surprise over the ship finding them decrease, if anyone could find him it was Jonathan Masters. "Can they detect us?" he asked.

"Not likely. The asteroid field we're in will cause enough interference to keep us off their sensors. Plus he is lying. There is no way he could have traced our warp signature here; he has no idea where we are. He's lying."

"Fine. Answer the hail."

Commander Marshal lent closer to Alexander. "Is that a wise decision, sir? We could just hide here and wait for them to get bored looking and leave. They have no proof we are here, if they did they would have told the Klingons and if they knew we would know."

He was expecting this. After all the effort they went to keep hidden it didn't make sense for him to break cover.

"I know the captain. He might join us. Hail them Lieutenant."

On the viewscreen appeared a dark skinned human officer. Seeing Masters again brought a smile to Whiting's face. They had been close friends back on the _Winston_ in the early 2360s. Masters had been a fresh new officer and had looked up to Whiting as an older brother, Whiting in turn considered Masters his younger brother and had looked out for him and helped him to make the transition from academy graduate to a useful and good serving officer.

"It's good to see you again kiddo…or should I say, Captain Masters," said Whiting. "Last I heard you weren't due to take command for weeks."

Masters returned the smile, it was genuine as well. Masters had not forgotten what they meant to each other. _ "You too, Alex. I wish it were under better circumstances. Let's not beat around the bush. Command gave me my command a bit early to come join the task force looking for you."_

"A whole task force just for me! I didn't know Starfleet cared so much," he acted surprised. No point letting Masters know he was keeping tabs on the forces arrayed against him.

The smile faded from Masters' face as his replied, _"We care if someone is slaughtering innocent civilians."_

Whiting could tell Masters was still trying to deny what he had heard. That deep down he wanted to believe that the things he had done were not true, that Whiting was still the person he looked up to.

Whiting scoffed at Masters' comments. "Innocent! Don't make me laugh. These are Klingons we are talking about; there are no innocent Klingons. They are savages who murder others to enhance some barbaric notion of honour! They have spent the last year beating their chests, threatening us and killing us! It is time for justice for those who have lost and been lost!"

Masters head dipped and he glanced away. When he looked back up he had a look of uncomfortable sorrow on his face.

"_Alex, I'm so sorry to hear about what happened to Cathy and your kids. I didn't know until I read the briefing for this mission. If I had known before I…I…"_ stammered Masters.

Whiting held up his hand. "I know. Don't feel guilty or think that you could have said or done anything that would have avoided this. Maybe it was fate that you didn't find out and meet me now. Fate is now giving you a chance to get some justice for the crew of the first _Swiftfire_…a chance for you to get justice. Join me and together we will make them pay for their crimes!"

Masters' again broke eye contact with him. He saw the torment on his face when he mentioned his old ship. He could sense the turmoil from within Masters, as he considered what he had heard.

Masters didn't return his gaze to Whiting as he spoke, _"I might have joined you if I thought you were after justice. But you're not after justice, are you Alex?_" Masters returned his gaze to Whiting._ "You are after vengeance, pure and simple. By killing civilians, it makes you as savage as the Klingons you despise."_

Whiting's face turned grim. He recognised the look on Masters' face; he had seen it plenty of times before, it was a look of steely determination, a look of purpose. Masters had made up his mind and there was nothing that could be said at this point to change it. "I see you don't understand." Whiting paused as his first officer came to his side and whispered into his ear.

"Sir, it looks like they are trying to trace us through the transmission. The latest information from the relay shows that the path is relatively clear. We should immediately make our way to Nug'ka."

Whiting let a little smile come to his face. He whispered, "Fantastic! Prepare the ship to depart." He turned back to Masters. "I have to go now, Jonathan. The smart thing to do would be to destroy your ship, but you know I can't do that. My fight is with the Klingons but be warned, don't try to stop me. We are friends but I won't let you stop me."

"_As your friend you know I can't let you continue."_

Whiting had always appreciated Masters' directness. "Despite the extra pip and the frankly dull uniform I'm glad to see you haven't changed."

He saw Masters ran a hand over his pips and look down at his uniform. They were both wearing different version of the standard Starfleet uniform. Masters had the newer version that was a lot less colourful then the version Whiting was wearing. Whiting was not a fan of the new style, he mused that at least after his mission he wouldn't have a chance to wear it.

"Goodbye Jonathan. Justice waits for no man."

He signalled his operations manager to shut down the channel.

"Helm, take us out of this field and then jump to warp," he ordered.

"Sir, the _Swiftfire_ is entering the field. There is a chance it will catch us before he can clear the field and jump to warp," said the tactical officer.

"Looks like we'll need to slow them down. Jonathan was never one to just give up."

* * *

On the_ Swiftfire_ the viewscreen went back to show the asteroid field. Captain Masters turned to face Lt. Commander Whitechapel

"What happened to the transmission?" he demanded.

"It's been cut off from the _Fury's _end. But I have a rough idea where they are in that field."

"Good work. Helm, take us into the field. Commander, raise shields, full power to the main deflector."

The _Swiftfire_ entered the asteroid field. The _Fury_'s position wasn't immediately apparent but then from behind several large asteroids it appeared. The _Swiftfire_ closed on the other ship, dodging the large floating space rocks and letting the small one it couldn't avoid bounce harmlessly off the ship's shields.

"We're going to catch them before they can exit the field," commented Core.

"Good. Prepare the tractor beam and weapons just in case."

Before he could get a reply to his orders the field erupted into explosions. It wasn't an attack directed at the _Swiftfire_ rather several large asteroids exploding.

"Report!"

"Sensors report at least six of the largest asteroids ahead of us have exploded. Most likely remotely detonated photon torpedoes," said Karak.

"We're going to have to slow down," said the flight controller. "There are a lot of large pieces of rock careening out of control and bouncing off each other."

"Can we catch the _Fury_ if we go around?" he asked.

"I doubt it. They've effectively slowed us down."

"Go as fast as you dare, Lieutenant. Commander Whitechapel, concentrate on the asteroids. We might need to blast a few."

The _Swiftfire_ proceeded, though at a much slower pace. By the time they cleared the trap left by the _Fury_ that ship had cleared the field. Masters watched helplessly as it jumped to warp and out of the system.

When the _Swiftfire_ finally cleared the field Masters had Karak check for a warp trail.

"I regret to report that the _Fury_ is dispersing its warp trail. It would be close to impossible to follow them using it."

"I thought as much," mumbled Masters. "Damn, we nearly had him."

With that thought it suddenly dawned on him that he had been prepared to fire on his friend. A person he had considered a brother and he was willing to fire on him. It was slightly sobering to think about. It was however his duty to apprehend Whiting and Masters had made his career out to be duty before everything, even friends, even loved-ones.

"We could take his last heading and hope he is travelling in a straight line to wherever he is going…and I know he won't be. Where the hell is he going?"

"The _Fury's_ first officer mentioned a Nutga," said Karak.

"When?" asked Core.

"When he conversed with Captain Whiting before the captain informed us that the _Fury_ was departing," explained Karak.

"What are you talking about? The first officer didn't say anything that even the computer could pick out."

"That is correct. However I did not hear him say it. I saw him say it."

"You can read lips?"

Karak nodded.

"Why didn't you say something?"

Karak tilted his head slightly. "I just did, captain."

Masters opened his mouth to clarify but decided against it. "Look it up in the database."

"I can't find a match," said Whitechapel.

"How sure are you that you read his lips correctly?" he asked Karak.

"I am not confident. It is extremely difficult to correctly decipher what is been said by sight alone."

"I could do a search for similar words but without knowing how correct the lieutenant's interpretation is I wouldn't be able to guarantee whether we would get anything useful," said Whitechapel.

"Captain, may I present a…hunch."

Masters raised his eyebrow in a very Vulcan gesture. "I'm intrigued! Continue Mr. Karak."

"I believe that the _Fury_ is heading to Nug'ka."

"Nug'ka system," spoke up Core from the science console. "Home to a Klingon world also called Nug'ka. It doesn't seem to have a significant military value."

"Any specific reason other then it sounds…or would look like Nutga?"

"Nug'ka is the home of the House of G'tor."

"As in General G'tor, the commander of the Klingon Fourth Battle group that attacked Belis?" asked Masters.

"Indeed. If you are correct about Captain Whiting being after personal revenge it would be logical for him to attack the person who caused him the greatest pain and to revisit that pain in a similar fashion as it was visited upon him."

"Of course. That fits in with his other attacks been diversions from his true target. Good work, Karak. Helm, set course for Nug'ka, maximum warp the _Fury_ has a bit of a lead on us." The crew immediately got to work quickly getting the ship on its way. "By the way Karak how did you figure this out?"

"I read the briefing and supplement material, including biographies on important individuals connected to the events."

"How many files exactly?"

"57."

"And you managed to remember the homeworld of one person out of all those files."

"Of course," said Karak as if it was something that was completely ordinary.

Masters shook his head and smiled. He probably only read half that number of files for this mission, that included a file on G'tor and he couldn't remember what his homeworld was. He knew better then to doubt a Vulcan's ability to recall facts. "Good work, Mr. Karak. Let's hope our hunches continue to bear fruit."


	4. Chapter 3

Alexander Whiting awoke sharply. Sweat drenched his sheets and his heart was pounding. He threw off his covers and sat up on the edge of the bed as he tried to slow down his breathing. He had a nightmare, the same recurring nightmare he had for the last few months.

He was home on Belis IV with his family; they were running and playing in the yard of their home. He was happy and content with life. Then his family went to go back into the house and he was struck with dread. He tried to tell them, to stop them from going into their home but it never worked. His family entered the house, then a shadow fell over him and he looked up to see the sky full of Klingon warships. One fired and his home exploded into a maelstrom of fire. All around him homes exploded as the Klingon's rained green death on his world. He would run to the ruins of his home and there on top of the rubble would be his wife and children, dead. He'd fall to his knees and cry, then turn his face to the sky and scream for the Klingons to kill him, but they never did. They just left him there on his burning world…alone.

Whiting got up and made his way to his bathroom. He ran the tap and splashed cold water on his face. He stared into the mirror at his damp face and sunken eyes. From out of the darkness behind him stepped his wife.

"Did you have another nightmare?" she asked innocently.

He nodded but didn't feel the need to explain it; he had done so a dozen times before. "They sent Jonathan after me. He has his own command now and the first thing they do is send him out to hunt me," he said to his wife. "I asked him to join me, to join my crusade for justice. He turned me down."

A sympathetic look came to his wife's face. "Are you surprised?" she asked.

"No, he has always highly valued duty over everything else."

"What is the loyalty to one individual when compared to that to an entire Federation?"

"I guess he took that to heart when I said it to him all those years ago. I doubt anything could make him break his oath, especially since Hyralan. If he continues to pursue me…I can't let him stop me."

"Can you really kill him?"

Whiting pondered the question. How far was he willing to go to fulfil his mission? Would it be worth the death of one of his closest friends?

"If I have to," he said weakly.

A look of sorrow came to his wife's face and she stepped towards him, stretching out her hand.

"Captain?"

Whiting jerked his head around to see Commander Marshal standing in the next room.

"Commander?"

"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't realise you were sleeping in here. Wouldn't you be more comfortable in your quarters?"

Whiting picked up a towel and dried his face. He was in his ready room.

"I think it is better if I stay close to the bridge, at least until the main mission is complete," he explained. "How are the crew?"

"They are all doing their duty. They believe the cover story we gave them, none suspect the truth."

Out of the crew of five hundred no more then a dozen people actually knew that their attacks on the Klingons were not sanctioned by Starfleet. It had taken some planning but they had managed to come up with a believable cover story and by regulating transmissions to and from the ship they could control what the bulk of the crew knew. It was a massive betrayal of their trust in him and his senior staff but it was necessary.

"You are doing a fantastic job, Commander. I appreciate it."

"Thank you, sir." A look of discomfort came to Marshal's face. "I don't mean to pry but is someone else here as well? I thought I heard you talking when I came in."

Whiting looks around his empty washroom. "No, commander. I am…alone."

* * *

Three hours after departing the Cursa system the _Swiftfire_ was at warp trying to catch up with the _Fury_.

"Sir, the Klingons are hailing us."

"On screen."

One of the oldest Klingons Masters had ever seen appeared on screen. The Klingon's long grey hair and facial hair were matched by long age lines across his face.

"General G'tor, how do your preparations go?" Masters inquired.

The Klingon signed. _"Not well, most of my house's ships are on the Klingon Border with the Romulans. Plus the council is unwilling to send ships here, no doubt on Gowron's behest. He might not be able to move against me directly but he is a crafty warrior…we don't see eye to eye on many things. I was able to recall two Birds of Prey, two _K't'inga_ and a _Kel'var_ class starship. Mostly my House's vessels, though two are from an ally."_

"It isn't going to be enough to stop the _Fury _from reaching orbit," commented Masters

_"I know. The _Fury_ will easily break through and attack the planet. Your participation in the battle would greatly even the odds. However, if you cannot reach the system in time we will do our best and like true warriors we will fight til our dying breath. G'tor out."_

The transmission ended. That was not the news Masters wanted to here. He was really relying on the Klingons supplying ships to stop the _Fury_. By the sounds of it internal Klingon politics were making this mission increasingly difficult.

"Helm, what is our speed?"

"We are at Warp 8.9."

"What! We've dropped our speed? Why?"

"Engineering did it, sir."

Masters tapped his combadge. "Captain to Engineering."

_ "Engineering here, sir."_

"I need more speed. Why did you decrease our speed?"

_ "Captain, the engines are new and shouldn't be operating at high velocities. We haven't had the time to properly test the system for faults or problems."_

"We need to catch the_ Fury,_ commander. I need us to go faster."

_ "But sir. We risk destroying the engines if we push them."_

"I'll take that risk. Consider this a direct order. I want the engines at maximum, now."

_ "Yes, sir," _agreed the chief engineer begrudgingly.

Pavlo Celcho was his chief engineer and his records showed him to be a very capable one at that. Celcho knew the ship better then anyone else since he had spent the last few months working on the finishing touches to get the ship ready to be launched. He knew the stakes and Masters was sure he only reduced the ship's speed for the safety of the crew, but he needed to take the risk. He had to stop Whiting.

"If we catch the _Fury_ we're going to need an edge. What can you tell me about her?" he asked Whitechapel.

"The _Fury_ is an earlier model _Akira_. From Starfleet's records it hasn't undergone a refit since it was built. Our warp cores are slightly more efficient so we'll have more power for our tactical systems. It hasn't been updated to quantum torpedoes yet so we have overall more firepower. Also the early models of the _Akira_ had all her launchers facing forward, apart from the broadside launchers."

"So she doesn't have the six aft launchers in the weapons' pod?" he asked.

"No, but in a head to head she would have the upper hand, apart from the fact we have quantum warheads. However, we don't have a full load. Our armament is mostly photons."

"But we still have more quantum warheads then the _Fury_."

"The _Fury_ is also a tried and tested starship, as Commander Celcho pointed out we're fresh off the blocks. Simulations say we'll have no problems, but you never know."

"We have to take the risk, commander. We have no choice."


	5. Chapter 4

Captain Whiting fidgeted impatiently in his command chair as he watched the main viewscreen. They were nearly at their destination and the final act was about to play out.

"Exiting warp…now."

On the viewscreen appeared Nug'ka. It appeared as a purple orb against the backdrop of space thanks to the worlds vast purple seas. At another time he might consider it a beautiful sight, but not today.

"Sir, I'm detecting two Birds of Prey and three frigates. They are vectoring towards us. Shields up and weapons ready," said the tactical officer.

"There shouldn't be any ships in this system, our previous attacks should have drawn any ships away," said Marshal.

"These aren't KDF ships, the computer has identified several as part of G'tor's house's fleet," said the tactical officer.

"It doesn't matter," said Whiting. "They won't be able to stop us with…"

Suddenly there was an alarm, it was the proximity alarm.

"Another ship was exited warp, directly aft of us. It's the _Swiftfire_!"

Whiting gestured for the ship to be put onscreen. "That explains the presence of those other ships. Jonathan obviously figured out where we were going and warned them. Full strength to the aft shields and full speed ahead, get us into bombardment range as quickly as possible. Looks like we won't be gloating to the General today."

* * *

Captain Masters ducked as another power coupling exploded over his head, showering the bridge in sparks.

"Engineering, report!" he yelled over the numerous alarms.

"_THE MAGNETIC INDUCTORS HAVE DEPOLARISED! THE WARP CORES ARE ONLY JUST STABLE. I SUGGEST YOU GO EASY ON THE POWER REQUIREMENTS AND ADVISE AGAINST GOING TO ANYTHING NEAR FULL IMPULSE!"_ yelled his chief engineer over even louder alarm in the background.

"Where is the _Fury_?" he asked.

"They are directly ahead; sir and they are not hanging around! They are on a direct course for the planet."

Masters grimaced. He had hoped that the threat from his ship and the other Klingon vessels might force the _Fury_ into engaging them in battle; instead it looked like Whiting was going for his primary target regardless of the other ships.

"We're going to have to go to full impulse. Raise shield and bring all weapons online. Tell Celcho to do what he can to keep the ship together."

"I have a lock on the _Fury_."

Masters took one final deep breath. The longer he hesitated the more likely it was that the _Fury_ would get within range to bombard the surface of the planet. He put aside all his reservations and thought only of his duty. There was no going back now, for either of them.

"Fire."

* * *

"The _Swiftfire_ has a lock on us. They are preparing to fire!"

"Brace for impact!" ordered Marshal.

Whiting gripped the armrest of his chair as he watched the _Swiftfire's_ phaser arrays start to fire. However just as they released their deadly beam of energy the port nacelle of the ship suddenly exploded, showering the port spar and the rear of the saucer with debris. Within a second all the ship's running lights went dark. The phaser beam sputtered into nothingness only a few kilometres from the ship.

"Commander?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. We were detecting unusual power fluctuations from the ship as soon as it arrived but what exactly happened I can't tell. However, their main power is offline, shields, weapons are down. Her engines are also offline. She seems to be crippled. You're orders?"

While Marshal had not explicitly asked he understood the underlining meaning, should they destroy the _Swiftfire_? He immediately heard the soft voice of his deceased wife in his ear. Even without that input he knew what the answer would be.

"Concentrate on the Klingons," he said. "Target the _Kel'var_ with a full spread of torpedoes and ready phasers."

The crew got back to their duties. The Klingons had yet to engage the ship, probably hoping that the _Swiftfire_ would have softened up the _Fury_ first. Unfortunately for them that wasn't what had happened.

"The _Kel'var_ is in range."

Whiting simply nodded his consent.

A brace of torpedoes flashed into view and quickly closed on the distant _Kel'var_. The ship did what it could to avoid them but it was mostly unsuccessful. The torpedoes slammed into the ship's shields and exploded. The force weakened the shields allowing two torpedoes to pass through the shields, impacting the rear half of the ship, tearing gaping holes into the vessel's hull.

Another set of torpedoes from the _Fury_ finished the ship off. The other Klingon vessels, now in weapons' range, opened fire, starting a furious exchange between the two forces.

* * *

Captain Masters picked himself off the floor. He could taste blood in his mouth and from the feeling he knew that he had managed to bite his own lip. Thankfully that was as bad as his injuries got.

"What the hell happened?" he asked.

"I don't know," said Core. "I can't get through to engineering, either of them. I can tell you that we are running on secondary power, shields, weapons and engines are currently offline. Looks like we lost the left nacelle."

"Lost?"

"As in it isn't there anymore. The computer is indicating that it exploded. Wait…I've regained communications with Lt. Commander Celcho."

"What is the situation, Commander?" asked Masters.

"_Stable at the moment, sir. At least one of the warp coils in the port nacelle shifted or buckled and redirected the plasma stream and caused the whole damn nacelle to blow up, we are incredibly lucky that the whole ship didn't go with it! We think the structural integrity field must have been compromised and the stress of full impulse didn't help."_

That was an "I told you so" if Masters ever heard one.

"What about main power?"

"_I took both warp cores offline. I doubt it would be safe to bring the port warp core back online, but we might be able to get some limited functionality out of the starboard core soon. Until then we're running on backups, which means no weapons but we should be able to bring the shields back online, though at only about 12% of normal strength."_

"Do what you can, Commander." Masters gestured for the channel to be closed. "Status of the _Fury_."

"They have engaged the Klingon forces. The _Kel'var_ and one of the Birds of Prey have been destroyed. They aren't going to be able to stop the _Fury_; she'll be in bombardment range in a few minutes."

"Is the communication system still online?"

"Yes."

"We have no time. Computer, release the prefix code for the USS_ Fury_ NCC-64952. Authorisation code, Masters-two-six-Alpha-eight-three."

"_Authorisation accepted. Prefix code released."_

"We have the _Fury's_ prefix code! We can take control of the ship!" exclaimed Whitechapel.

"Such a tactic would have a limited lifespan," said Karak. "The crew would quickly be able to override the codes, they are after all designed to regain control of a vessel from a non-Starfleet force and not wrest control from the crew."

"Karak is right. I also won't use the code to self destruct the ship. I won't be responsible for the death of five hundred Starfleet personnel."

"Then what are you going to do?" asked Core.

"Do we have enough power for the transporters?"

"Without the shields online we should."

"Are we still in range of the _Fury_?"

"Yes, our momentum is still taking us towards Nug'ka, not on the same course as the _Fury_ but close enough."

"Excellent, on my signal start beaming the crew off that ship. Ready? Computer, prepare to transmit the prefix code to the _Fury_ with orders to take their weapons and shields offline as well as bring the ship to a full stop."

"_Transmission ready,"_ said the computer.

"Send it to the _Fury_." It only took a second for them to see if Masters' plan was successful. The _Fury's_ shields suddenly and seemingly without explanation dropped. "Start transport, Lieutenant Karak!"

* * *

"How long until we are in range?" asked Whiting. The Klingons were hardly a threat. They had destroyed two ships in short order and the remaining three were less then a risk to the operation.

"We'll be within maximum range in less than two minutes," reported Marshal.

"Sir, the Klingons are regrouping for another attack."

"Ignore them. Prepare for a full torpedo bombardment of the planet."

A wide smile came to Whiting's face, it was just about time and there was nothing that could stop him. Once the first wave of torpedoes had been launched he would return his attention to the Klingon ships and dispatch them before a second strike to make sure of complete destruction. He wanted to hail G'tor and deliver his verdict on the Klingon's crimes, to see the person that had caused the death of his family. He still had time.

Before he could order his crew to hail the Klingon the tactical officer cried, "SIR, our shields! They're dropping! Our weapons are offline!"

"I've lost helm control," called out the flight controller. "The ship is coming to a complete stop!"

"Get those systems back online, now!" Whiting yelled, jumping out of his seat.

"I can't. The system is locked out…it's a prefix code lockout!"

Anger filled Whiting as he realised the culprit. The _Swiftfire_, more importantly Captain Jonathan Masters had done this and he felt immediate regret that he hadn't destroyed the ship. Friend or not Masters was a dangerous opponent and he had let sentimentality get the better of him.

"Override it as quickly as you…"

"Sir, lifesigns are dropping all over the ship!"

Whiting didn't initially understand why, had Masters gone as far as to turn off life-support on the ship? He quickly discarded that notion; if he had they would have noticed a lack of air on the bridge. It then dawned on him.

"They're transporting the crew off. Get those shields up now! Put up emergency force fields around the bridge to stop them getting a lock on…"

Whiting was forced to pause as he felt the tingle of a transporter locking onto him and beginning to beam him off the ship. However, just as quickly as the feeling started it ended, he looked around and found they were all still on the bridge.

"Good work, Lieutenant," praised Whiting.

The operations officer gave Whiting a look of confusion. "Whatever just happened…it wasn't me."


	6. Chapter 5

"Sir, I am unable to regain a successful transporter lock on any of the remaining crew on the _Fury_." said Lieutenant Karak. "It appears as though the Klingon ships are emitting an interference wave that is disrupting all transporter locks."

"What are they playing at? Hail them!"

"They are not responding."

"Get me General G'tor." The aged Klingon quickly appeared on the screen. "General your ships are stopping me from apprehending the crew of the _Fury_; I need you to order them to drop their interference field."

"_I know, I gave my ships the order to stop you from transporting the crew off the ship._"

Master looked at the general in disbelief. "You ordered?"

"_Yes, captain. The Klingon High Council has made it quite clear that the _Fury_ is to be destroyed_."

"What about the crew?"

"_They are guilt of mass murder, in Klingon law there is only one punishment for such a crime: death."_

"They are Federation citizens you can't…"

"_I politely remind you, Captain that you are in Klingon territory. These crimes were committed in Klingon territory. You have no authority here, the fallen shall be avenged."_

The Klingon disappeared as the channel was closed.

"Can we get close enough to the _Fury_ to extend our shields around her?" he asked.

"Yes, but it is going to take some time to get there by thrusters alone," said the flight controller.

"Do it."

"We don't have that long, captain. The Klingons are already attacking the _Fury_," said Core.

Masters watched as the remaining Klingon vessels fired on the exposed starship. He wanted desperately to get to the ship and offer some protection. Despite Whiting's crimes he couldn't help but think of him as the same officer he met in 2359 on the _Winston_. Unfortunately it looked like it was out of his hands. The only person who could save the _Fury_ was Whiting himself.

* * *

"Captain, I've got the shields back up but they won't last long. We've taken significant damage; life support is failing on several decks."

"Reroute all auxiliary power to life support and shields. Can you get the engines and weapons back online?"

"In time," said the officer stoically.

Time was not something they had much of. Whiting saw his plan to avenge his wife and children and all the colonists on Belis IV turn to ashes.

"Sir, the _Swiftfire_ is moving towards us," reported Marshal.

"To help the Klingons or us?"

"They are running on minimal power and travelling by thrusters, they won't be much help to anyone."

The situation was dire. In situations like this there was only one course of action left to him.

"Signal the crew…abandon ship. Tell them to head straight for the _Swiftfire_. If they are lucky they will get to the _Swiftfire _before the Klingons get to them."

"Sir, the _Swiftfire_ is singularly responsible for where we are at now! They were going to attack us!"

"Captain Masters is an honourable officer; he won't fire on escape pods. He will do all he can to protect them despite what we have done."

The entire Bridge crew stood and looked at each other.

"That's an order!"

Red lights started to flash and every single screen flickered with the words, "Abandon ship". The crew on the bridge made their way to the turbolift to travel to the nearest escape pods. Whiting just sank back into his chair and started at the viewscreen.

"Sir, I'll take you to your escape pod," said Marshal.

"That won't be necessary, Todd. I don't plan on leaving."

"Sir?"

"Someone has to drop the shields to allow the escape pods to escape.

"In that case, I'll stay to help."

"No, Todd. This is one thing I must do on my own. Plus someone is going to have to stand up for the crew after the dust clears and I know you will. Once the crew are in the escape pods I'll lower the shields." He watched the face of his conflicted first officer. "Consider it my final order to my loyal first officer."

Marshal still didn't look like he was going to leave, but he finally did. "As ordered, sir. It was an honour serving with you."

"The honour was all mine, Commander."

Whiting sat in his seat for another minute before standing. He slowly turned, taking in the bridge. This had been his home for six years and soon it would be gone.

"Computer, hail the _Swiftfire_."

* * *

"Sir, the _Fury_ is hailing us. It's Captain Whiting."

"On screen. Captain Whiting, Alex. I'm so sorry. I had to do this I had to stop you. I really had no other choice."

"_Coming from anyone else Jonathan and I would not believe they meant it. But this isn't why I called. We are abandoning the ship. I expect the Klingons will want the entire crew dead. They didn't have a part in this. Only my senior staff and I knew what we were doing, you have to protect them because I'm sending them to you. Whatever you think of me and what I've done, they don't deserve to pay for it. I've got one of the phaser arrays back online. I can provide them with some cover."_

"They are going to need to travel a fair distance if they want to get to us. You'll have no one providing cover for you when you leave."

Whiting hesitated. _"We'll deal with that when we get to it."_

Masters felt dread in the pit of his stomach. He had an inkling of what Whiting was planning but decided against getting into an argument about it with him now. His focus was the escape pods. "Good luck, Alex."

"_Thank you, Jonathan."_

The screen changed to show the _Fury_. The two flanking battle cruisers pounded the ship's shields, then suddenly they were gone and their fire dug into the hull. All over the ship small escape pods broke away from the ship, giving the impression of a dandelion clock caught in a stiff breeze and spreading its seeds into the wind.

"I want full thrusters forward, we have to get closer and cut the time those pods are vulnerable."

Masters stared at the escape pods, willing them to go faster. Thankfully the two _K't'inga_ battle cruisers didn't go after the small pods, instead focusing on tearing the _Fury_ apart one bulkhead at a time. Suddenly he saw the last active bird of prey swoop in disruptors blazing, it quickly destroyed two pods. The _Fury_ fired her phasers but none went close to hitting the small and nimble starship.

"The Bird of Prey appears to be hugging a blind spot in the Fury's phaser coverage," said Whitechapel.

That was a problem; if Whiting was telling the truth about his crew's lack of knowledge then he was letting innocent Starfleet personnel die. He couldn't take the chance that it was all a lie to force him into engaging the Klingons, his conscience would not be able to bear it if it were true.

"Transporters are still working, right?"

"Yes."

"Okay, I want you to set at least a dozen torpedoes to a low yield and then beam them in the Klingon's path and denoted them. I don't want you to destroy it, just make the helmsman flinch."

Whitechapel nodded. "Preparing the torpedoes. Beaming out two torpedoes…now!"

Close to invisible to the naked eye the two torpedoes materialised along the Bird of Prey's course. Suddenly what looked like empty space was a furious ball of fire. The twin explosions had the desired effect; the Bird of Prey's helmsman was startled by the explosion and sent the ship steeply away from them. If the Klingon's breathed a sigh of relief it would have been too early as the _Fury's_ phasers caught the small ship, destroying it.

"The Bird of Prey is down."

That was an unexpected turn of events and while Masters was not exactly pleased to have helped in the destruction of that vessel it at least meant the pods could reach the _Swiftfire_ safely. "Once the pods are within range tractor them into the shuttlebay. Then have what security officers we have to take the crew to a secure location or beam them there."

He turned his attention back to the _Fury_. _Come on, Alex. Get the hell out of there!_

* * *

Whiting stumbled across the room as the ship rocked continuously from the weapon's fire. He had brought the shields back up after the escape pods had cleared the ship, but not before the Klingons destroyed the bridge of the ship. It looked like his decision to move to main engineering was a smart move. He looked at the master systems display. There were so many red and blacked out sections it looked more like an incomplete jigsaw puzzle.

One of the nearby screens flashed with a message and he stumbled over to see what it was about. That was it, weapons and shields were now completely offline. The ship would be destroyed in a matter of minutes.

"If you think you'll be taking this ship down you have nothing thing coming," he voiced as he prepared his final act. His finger hovered over the button that would execute what would be his final order.

"You were never one to just let things be."

Whiting looked at the screen, focusing on the dim reflection. In it he saw his wife standing beside him.

"I did this for you. I failed. I couldn't…I couldn't make them pay for what they did to you and the kids…I tried," he tried to explain to the spectre.

"I know."

"Jonathan stopped me…I could have killed him but I couldn't, because you didn't want me to."

"He was just doing what he thought was right, you can't hold that against him."

Whiting stared into the reflection of his wife's eyes. "No, no I can't."

She stretched out her hand and cupped his right cheek. Whiting lent his head into her hand as the touch soothed him.

She smiled sweetly and with understanding at him. "But that doesn't matter. None of that matters now."

"No, I guess it doesn't. I'm going to destroy the ship now. Before the Klingons can, it will be my last act against them, denying them the kill."

His wife just continued to smile at him and nodded gently as if to give him her consent.

He stared back at the spectre and felt nothing but love in his heart. He would at least be joining her. His eyes locked on hers he pressed the final button.

"_Authorisation required,"_ said the computer.

"Don't forget about Jonathan, dear. He is still your friend. If I can forgive him for what he has done so can you."

"Of course. You were always my conscience."

He opened an audio channel to Masters.

"Jonathan, do you have the escape pods?"

"_Collecting the last of them now. My operations manager thinks he can get through their transporter jamming. We can beam you off in around two minutes."_

"By then it will be too late. Put as much room between the _Fury_ and your ship as you can."

"_There is still time! The _Fury_ could withstand the next minute or so of the attack, we could save you."_

"Jonathan, do me one last favour. Don't save me, I want to be with Cathy now."

"_Cathy's dead, Alex. You're not! I can't just let you die out there."_

"A captain should go down with his ship," interjected his wife.

"She's right. She forgives you, Jonathan. She forgives you for what you have done and what you are trying to do. I forgive you too."

"_Who's right? Is there someone else still on the ship with you? Alex, you've got to…"_

Whiting felt warmth in his heart to know that despite this Masters would still fight so hard to make sure he survived. His wife was right, they were still friends.

"Goodbye my friend," he said as he ended the transmission.

He had not taken his eyes off his wife during the conversation with Masters, but now he had to so to input the final command codes. He reluctantly looked down and inputted the codes. He looked back up and saw the countdown on the screen and that was all he saw, the countdown and his lone reflection.

He looked himself in the eye and said, "I guess this is the end."

* * *

"Alex! ALEX!" shouted Masters.

"It appears that Captain Whiting has closed the channel, sir," pointed out Karak.

"What are your orders, Captain?" asked Core.

Masters was torn. He could continue to close on the _Fury_ and hope Karak could get through the jamming in time and face the possible destruction of his ship if Whiting had set the _Fury_ to destroy itself or he could retreat and preserve the lives of over six hundred people.

It was a simple decision, but by far the hardest of his very short career in the centre seat.

"Get us as far from the _Fury_ as possible. See if Celcho can get the shields online, even at 5% it would be better then nothing."

"Aye aye, sir."

Masters kept his eyes on the viewscreen as the _Fury_ slowly shrunk as they moved away. He refused to look away despite the anguish he felt; he would watch this to the bitter end.

* * *

"Depends on what you mean by "the end"."

Whiting looked back at the screen but still only saw his face. Whiting realised the voice was coming from further away this time. He slowly turned around and saw his wife standing near the warp core. She was draped in flowing white clothes and was surrounded by a beautiful glow he could not explain and despite the frequent shaking of the ship she look unperturbed.

"Cathy!"

"Did he listen to you?" she asked seemingly unaware of his surprise.

"Jonathan's pulling back. He should be able to get far enough away to be safe."

She gave him a look of pride. "I'm glad. It is not time for him to end this journey."

"But it is my time," he stated.

His wife nodded in agreement, her face as calm and loving as ever. "Yes."

The only thing that came into his mind was a question that had been asked since the dawn of humankind. "What now?"

His wife held out her arms and invited him towards her.

Whiting walked over to his wife. He still had a sense that the ship was shaking but he could no longer tell, each step came with a sense of serenity and calm that his chaotic surrounds seemed unable to disturb. He stood no more then thirty centimetres from her and reached up to touch her face. She lent her head into his palm and for the first time since her death he touched her. He shuddered as his emotions threatened to engulf him as he stroked her cheek. She put her own hand on his, rubbing it to sooth him.

Whiting pulled himself closer to her so that their faces were centimetres apart. She smiled lovingly at him and her scent filled his nostrils. He stared into her gentle brown eyes and they sparkled with not only life but something extra, something he could not define, all he knew was that it was beautiful and divine.

"Is this really you?" he whispered.

"Does it matter?"

Tears streamed down his face. His wife reached up and wiped the tears from his cheeks with her hand. To Whiting it felt real and that was all that matter to him.

"I've felt so…alone."

"You were never alone, Alex," she whispered and lent forward.

Whiting tiled his head and lent into her, his lips meeting hers. He closed his eyes and for the first time in months he felt…complete. Though his eyelids he saw an impossibly bright flash and knew that this part of his journey was complete.

* * *

The prone _Fury_ was awash in flames as its atmosphere leaked out of numerous breaches in the ship's hull. The once pristine grey hull was blackened and large sections were exposed to space.

Two Klingon battle cruisers flanked the once proud vessel, their disruptors and torpedoes smashing the ship to pieces. Further in the distance another _Akira_ class starship slowly turned and headed away from its devastated sibling. One of the Klingon cruisers turned away from the _Fury_ and started to move away, likely to intercept the _Swiftfire_ in case it tried to leave the system, whatever the reason it was a decision that saved that ship.

Without warning the _Fury_ exploded violently. The closest _K't'inga_ was hit by the full force of the shockwave, the impact made its shields flare and then flicker as they collapsed. Without the shields the ship was unprotected from the numerous pieces of debris that can hurtling its way. Pieces as large as a shuttlecraft peppered the ship. At least one penetrated the hull into the ship's torpedo storage area, detonating its contents. The ship exploded as brilliantly as the _Fury_ had just seconds before.

The second battle cruiser was further away and its shield held. They were however weakened and several pieces of debris from either the _Fury_ the other battle cruiser or both impacted the aft section of the ship. Secondary explosions licked the rear of the ship but unlike its partner they did not consume the vessel. In the end it was left disabled and adrift.

The _Swiftfire_, the furthered vessel from the explosion, shields held and the disbursal of the wreckage meant there was only a minimal risk of impact. Without the ship's main engines and damage the shockwave buffeted the ship putting it in a gentle spin along its horizontal axis.

As the dust settled out of the seven vessels that had started the battle only two remained, both badly scarred.


	7. Chapter 6

"Report," said Masters quietly as he watched the fading explosion.

"No new damage to report," reported Core. "Thrusters are starting to arrest our spinning."

"The first piece of good news today," Masters' reply was barely audible. He stared at the spot in space were the _Fury_ had occupied, lost in thought.

"Sir, we are being hailed by General G'tor."

He didn't respond. Karak was about to repeat herself when he nodded. Karak put the transmission on the viewscreen.

"_Congratulations, captain. You're efforts here today will further cement our peoples' alliance. Do you have Captain Whiting in custody?"_

"No, he chose to remain on his ship."

"_At least he had the honour not to flee from his rightful fate. There is some honour in that."_

"As his friend it gives me little comfort to know that, General," said Master.

"_He was responsible for the mass murder of innocents, captain. I hardly think his death is worth mourning."_

"I seem to recall you killed plenty of innocent in your time."

G'tor started back silently at Masters. _"I am not always…proud of the things I have done, captain. But it was during war. Innocents often get caught in the cross fire."_

Masters felt like jumping through the viewscreen and throttling the Klingon. He dared not speak in case his anger got the better of him.

"_But that is not what I'm concerned about,"_ said the General. _ "You will hand over the occupants of the _Fury's _escape pods immediately."_

"I will do no such thing," this time Masters couldn't keep the contempt out of his voice.

Anger flashed in the general's eyes, obviously not use to having people he considered below him defy his will. _"Do not argue with me, captain. You are harbouring criminals. You will hand them over or I will be forced to…"_

"To what?" he interrupted. "To take them from me? Destroy my ship? Let me remind you that you that your only ship is badly damaged and drifting. You weren't the only one to inform their superiors of what was going to happen here and my reinforcements will be here in two hours. You made it clear that no Klingon reinforcements were forthcoming, so I doubt any would arrive before mine do. The crew will remain on my ship and be taken into Federation custody to investigate their level of knowledge of Captain Whiting's actions. The Klingon Empire I'm sure will be welcome to participate in the investigation under Federation supervision."

G'tor smiled a toothy smile and let out a low throaty laugh. _"I see our intelligence reports on you are accurate. In respect for the person who saved my life and that of my family from a cowardly sneak attack I will grant you the custody of the prisoners."_

"What about Gowron? He won't be pleased with this."

"_I don't suspect so. Farewell, Captain Masters, I look forward to meeting you in the future."_

The channel was closed.

Core walked up to his side. "Good work, captain. But may I ask what if the General had forced the issue what would you have done?"

Masters look her directly in the eye. "To tell you the truth I hadn't thought that far ahead."

Core smiled and gave him a playful nudge with her elbow. "Typical."

"How is the crew of the _Fury_?"

"We have them secured in three of the cargo bays. I've posted what security personnel we have to guard the entrances. But if they do escape we'll have a problem give they out number us four to one."

"We only have to hold them for a few hours. Communicate to Celcho that he can start whatever repairs he needs to do, the ship is no longer under threat."

* * *

An hour and forty minutes later the Starfleet reinforcements arrived. An _Excelsior_ class, a _Mediterranean_ class and a _Zodiac_ class vessel led by the _Galaxy_ class, USS _Venture._

"Sir, the _Venture_ is hailing us."

"On screen."

On the viewscreen appeared a female human, it was Rear Admiral Jennifer Douglas. Masters had only one previous dealing with her and that was when he informed her of the _Fury's_ planned destination been Nug'ka.

"_Captain, it's good to see you made it out in one piece. We feared the worse when we couldn't contact us."_

"We made it, just. Most of our systems are still offline."

"_What happened?"_ Douglas asked the question that was most likely foremost in her mind.

"Basically I pushed the ship too hard and parts of it blew up. The good news is that we stopped the _Fury_ from bombarding the planet. We were also able to take most of crew into custody."

"_Did you get Captain Whiting?"_

Masters' gaze dropped to the floor.

"No, he went down with the _Fury_."

"_I see." _ The Admiral looked off screen. _"The General is waiting to talk to me, no doubt to discuss what is to happen with the crew of the _Fury_."_

"That has been dealt with; the general has given us custody of the crew."

"_Really, this should be interesting then. Given the state of your ship the crew can't be held there. Start beaming them to the _Knox_, _Resolution_ and the _Virgo._ I'll have a team from the _Venture_ beam over to assist in preparations to take you back to Federation space."_ The admiral paused briefly. _"I understand that you and Captain Whiting were friends and I know this was a difficult mission for you personally. I'm sure you did your best, which is all that anyone could have asked of you."_

"Thank you, admiral," he replied with little enthusiasm.

The admiral disappeared from the screen.

"Lieutenant Karak, start to organise for the transfer of the _Fury's_ crew." He ordered. "Which is the smallest ship out there?"

"It would be the USS _Knox_. It is the _Mediterranean_ class vessel."

"Talk to the captain to see how many it would be safe to transfer over to the _Knox_. We don't what to put too many prisoners on that ship if they don't have the crew to handle them."

"As ordered, captain." Karak immediately started on his task.

"Commander Core, you have the bridge," he said and quickly headed to his ready room.

Once inside he made his way to his desk and lent heavily on it. His emotions boiled up to the surface as he thought of the friend he had just lost.


	8. Epilogue

Later Masters sat alone in the temporary quarters assigned to him on the _Venture_. The small group of ships had left Nug'ka and was making it way to rendezvous with the other ships of the task force. The _Swiftfire_ was under tow by the _Venture_ and the crew had been evacuated to the larger _Galaxy_ class ship for the trip, leaving only a small engineering crew onboard to monitor the vessel during the trip.

"_Captain, you have an incoming message."_

"Put it through." Masters looked at the message; it was from an organisation he had never heard of. It indicated that they were forwarding him a message on behalf of another party, though it did not say who. It seemed to be a single file, some sort of recording. His curiosity won his over and he opened the mysterious file. He jerked his head back in surprise when the face of Alexander Whiting appeared on his monitor.

"_I hate to be clichéd but if you're watching this then I'm dead,"_ said Whiting, a playful smile on his face. Given the circumstances the joke was lost on Masters. _"I've spent the last few days going over this message, my final message to you. It has not been easy."_ A more serious look came to Whiting's face._ "If you've heard already then you've probably heard some equally disturbing claims about what I have been up to, namely I've gone rogue and have attacked the Klingons. What can I say other then it is true or at least it will be."_ A sorrowful look came to his face. _"I can imagine how you feel about this, about me. We were like brothers on the _Winston_ and I know you looked up to me and I always tried to be the best example of what a Starfleet officer should be. Loyalty. Duty. Integrity. Responsibility. These are the things I stood for…or at least I did."_ Whiting closed his eyes and took in a visibly deep breath. When he opened his eyes Masters knew what he was going to say.

"_Cathy's dead. She was killed by the Klingons months ago during the battle on Belis IV along with my two beautiful daughters. It broke me, Jonathan. I tried to continue on but every time I look into a mirror I see my wife's face and every time I look out into space at those cold distant stars I realise…I am alone."_

It broke Masters' heart to see his recently deceased friend like that. A mere shadow of the man he used to be.

"_That is why I never contacted you to tell you, why I hoped you would not find out. I knew if you did you would do your best to help me because I helped you all those years ago when you chose duty over companionship. I was also afraid that I wouldn't be able to hide my true intentions from you. I knew that you would find a way to stop me because you are my friend._

"_So I'm striking out at the Klingons in vengeance for my loss, to make them feel that same loss. I don't know if you'll understand, but I hope you can. One last thing; duty and loyalty are not everything, not if it leaves you alone. Don't let it happen, it can destroy you. Goodbye, Jonathan."_

Masters stared at the screen for how long he couldn't tell. He didn't know what to think; he wanted to understand but knew that he couldn't. How could he if he had not suffered the same type of loss?

He quietly stood and made his way to the replicator. He silently ordered it to create him a datapadd. He took the pad to the room's main terminal and copied the message over to the padd and encrypted it. Then he removed the message from the ship's computer.

There was a tone to indicate someone was at the door to his quarters. He put the datapadd out of sight.

"Come in," he called.

The door opened to reveal Commander Core, his new first officer and friend. She entered the room and lifted up a bottle.

"I thought you could use a drink," she said.

Masters nodded in agreement and she got them a pair of glasses. They sat on the plush couch that was in the living area of the room. Core sat next to him and handed him his glass and then proceeded to pour him a healthy portion.

"Sneaking real alcohol onto the ship, I doubt the admiral would be too pleased," he said.

Core smiled slyly at him. "I won't tell her if you don't."

Masters chuckled and took a large sip. Its strong smell assaulted his nose before it touched his lips, giving him some forewarning of what was to come. The liquid burned its way down his throat.

"Actually I got it off one of the crew from the _Venture_," she confessed.

"What did it cost you?"

"A date to the holodeck." She took a smaller sip then Masters did. She signed appreciatively. "Worth it I think."

Masters took a second sip, hoping that the ice in the glass had melted slightly to take some of the edge off. He then noticed the silence and immediately tried to fill it.

Core put her hand on his knee. "You don't have to speak for the sake of speaking, Jonathan. We can just sit here, quietly."

Masters put his hand on hers and patted it lightly and gave her a small smile of appreciation. She was a very good friend, probably better then he deserved. He lent back into the couch, resting his head back so he was looking at the ceiling.

"Rough day," he said faintly.

"Rough day," repeated Core just as softly.

Masters then just stared up at the ceiling, his drink resting on his chest. He was lost in his own thoughts but he was still aware that Core was there. Because that was what he really needed at that time, someone just to be there, someone to remind him that he wasn't alone.


End file.
